


No Pressure

by Wallwalker



Category: Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children
Genre: Community: springkink, Friendship, Gen, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-11-20
Updated: 2009-11-20
Packaged: 2017-10-03 10:32:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 349
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17061
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wallwalker/pseuds/Wallwalker
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's weird, being almost-friends with someone who used to be her enemy. Weird, but kind of nice.</p>
            </blockquote>





	No Pressure

**Author's Note:**

> Originally written for LiveJournal's [Springkink](http://community.livejournal.com/springkink/) challenge in July of '07.  
> Prompt: Final Fantasy VII, Rude/Tifa: No romance - 99% of the time

Tifa has had Rude's cell phone number on her speed dial for quite a while now.

It feels strange, being almost-friends with someone who used to be her enemy, but she's gotten as used to it as she ever will. Besides, with Barret gone to search for new oil fields and make sure that the world doesn't fall back into the dark ages now that Mako's no longer an option, and with Cloud being... well... the way that Cloud's been lately, she can't object to the company. Rude might not talk much, but that's actually an advantage; it means that she doesn't have to feel bad about not being able to think of things to say.

They only spar at night, when the kids are asleep; she doesn't want Marlene and Denzel to see her fighting. It's not that she isn't proud of her abilities, just that she doesn't want them imitating her until they're both old enough and wise enough to understand that there's more to fighting than beating the other person senseless. And Rude - who almost always answers the phone when she calls and who never refuses when she asks for him to spar with her - is one of the best partners she's ever had. He knows how to fight and how to take a fall as well as she does, so neither of them have to worry about accidentally hurting each other that much.

It's not that she doesn't care about her family and her friends, or that they wouldn't come too if she called them. It's just that sometimes it's easier to be herself with someone who doesn't expect anything out of her but a good workout, and maybe a beer or two if she happens to have any on hand. She doesn't feel the roles pressing down on her, doesn't feel compelled to be the childhood friend or the tough girl or the kindly mother figure. She's just Tifa, and he's apparently fine with that; that's reason enough for her to keep calling his number, and reason enough to be happy when he answers.


End file.
